He was exhausted when he got home that night. The family reunion he and Walsh hosted that day had gotten a tad out of hand, beginning with nearly twice as many people showing up than originally anticipated, which completely screwed everything up. And of course the clients were one of the wealthier ones they'd had this season, and it was impossible to say no to the changes and the two men were forced to go with the flow.
So, his plan for the night was to decompress on the couch with a glass of rum and whatever bad movie he could find on TV.
Halfway through some terrible kung-fu movie, there was a succession of loud knocks on his door. With a slurry of curses, he answered the door, sending silent death threats to whoever it was on the other side.
To say he was expecting to see the young girl staring up at him would've been a lie. And being surprised would've been a massive understatement.
"Um, can I help you, lass?" he asked, the confusion in his voice matching the look on his face.
"You're Killian Jones, right?" she asked, bright green eyes widening with what he'd describe as a mix of hope and anticipation. His hand absently moved to the ring around his neck, just visible beneath the deep V of his t-shirt.
"Aye…and you are?"
"Lillian Jones. Or Lily. Whichever, really. I'm your daughter, although you won't remember me," the girl explained as she invited herself into his apartment. More like shoved herself past him, really.
"Oi! What're you doing? I don't have a kid. Don't even have a girlfriend. And haven't in a long time." Not since Milah, and there was no way she could be their daughter.
"Did you miss the part where I said you won't remember me? We've never actually met, until now," she repeated, rolling her eyes as she made herself comfortable on his couch, eyeing the TV curiously.
"I heard that bit. Only I've not been with anyone in a very long time that would result in me having a child," he explained, watching the girl as he sat down in the arm chair next to the couch. "What are you even doing here, lass?"
"I'm here to make you remember and bring you home," the girl—Lily—explained with a shrug, still staring at the TV as if she'd never seen one before.
"I've no plans of going back to Wales. Sorry."
"Good thing we're not going there, then. Wherever that is. Home is the Enchanted Forest."
"The where?"
"Enchanted Forest."
Killian fell silent, not really sure what to say at this point. And apparently Lily decided that meant she could continue with her story. "It's in another realm. Filled with magic and fairies and royalty. Which is what we are—well, me and mom anyway. You're not technically royalty cause you and mom aren't married yet. But mom's the princess of the Enchanted Forest and her parents are Snow White and Prince Charming. And-"
"Slow down there," Killian interrupted, raising both hands in a halting motion. "What the bloody hell are you going on about? Snow White and Prince Charming are fairytale characters, not real people."
"In this world," Lily supplied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But back home they're very real, as well as a bunch of other people."
"I don't know who's telling you these things, but they don't exist, darling. Never have, never will. Now," Killian stood and turned the TV off. "You need to head home. It's late and I'm sure your parents are wondering where you've run off to."
It looked like she was about to argue with him, until she thought better of it. Her shoulders dropped and she went to the door, hand on the knob as she turned around to look at him. "Mom was right. You can be more stubborn than her," Lily offered with a surprisingly happy smile. "By the way," she added as she opened the door and stepped into the hallway. "The woman? Brilliant green eyes, bright golden hair, and the most beautiful woman you've ever seen? Her name's Emma—my mom and the woman you fell in love with. And that ring around your neck? That's the ring you proposed to her with."
"How-?"
"I'm the daughter of royalty and a sailor. Being observant is in my blood." With another bright smile, the girl disappeared behind the closed door, leaving a stunned and confused Killian standing in the middle of his apartment.
Despite having to work the next morning, he was up most of the night trying to make sense of what happened.
"How old was she?" Walsh asked, his expression almost an exact match to the one Killian sported the night before.
"Nine or ten, I'd guess? I didn't ask."
"And you're certain you didn't unknowingly get some chick pregnant back in Whales?" the blond asked.
"Certain, mate," Killian insisted. "Milah was my only serious relationship, and I met her here."
"And she was never pregnant before she died. I know," Walsh supplied. "So she's just some kid who someone put up to a prank."
Killian shrugged, not entirely convinced. "She knew about the blonde woman. And my mother's ring," he weakly argued.
"Jones, anyone who was in the harbor the day you told me about those dreams could've overheard you. And everyone who's worked around here in the last nine years knows about your ring," his best friend explained with a roll of his eyes. "Any one of them could've convinced that kid to mess with you."
His response came in the form of an unconvinced noise before returning to the list of tasks they'd left to do before that day's party attendees showed up.
The event was going well; everyone was happy and the weather on the water was perfect. Considering how large the party was, Killian was pleasantly surprised, which gave both him and Walsh a chance to wander through the crowd and mingle with their guests.
Until he caught sight of a familiar head of black hair as it disappeared out of view as quickly as it appeared. With an annoyed sigh, he followed after the girl, eventually finding her in one of the more secluded areas of the boat; his office.
"What are you doing here, lass? And how in the world did you get aboard without me seeing you?" he questioned, closing the door behind him.
"I had to learn quickly how to sneak around the palace and not get caught by him," Lily explained with a shrug, looking around the small room. "I wanted to see you on the water. Mom said the only placed you loved to be when you weren't with her was on the Jewel of the Realm with Uncle Liam. Some things don't change, even with a curse."
"Curse?"
"The curse that sent you here and took away your memories of mom and everyone else."
"Lily-"
"Don't 'Lily' me, dad! You need to listen to me and believe me! Eleven years ago, the Dark One cast a curse that brought you here, while trapping everyone else in the White Kingdom. All because mom and her parents said no to an alliance with him by mom marrying his son, and chose to marry you instead because you two are true love—just like my grandparents," the girl explained quickly, a sense of panic overcoming her. "We need you to come home and help save everyone."
Yet again, Killian found himself unable to respond and simply stared at her.
"The dreams aren't random. It was mom talking to you, using her magic," Lily continued, pleading with him now. "I need you to believe me so you can remember and we can go home."
Mouth open, he was about to tell her magic didn't exist, but found himself unable to. Growing up, Killian had been one of those kids who always secretly hoped magic was real, always had the belief that the world would prove its existence one day. That part of him never went away, even as an adult.
"You believe me, even if you won't say so," she pointed out, that hopeful part of himself reflecting in the smile she gave him. Without warning—or hesitation—both of Lily's hands came up and a bright white light flashed to life, nearly blinding him before dimming and revealing an exact image of the woman from his dreams. "That's Emma—my mom and the woman from your dreams."
Before he could respond, the door to his office slammed open, Walsh on the other side. The both of them jumped, Lily's magic disappearing.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson are looking for you, dude," Walsh explained, seemingly unphased by what he might or might not have seen. "Who's the kid?"
"Um-"
"My name's Emma," she answered for him. "I wasn't feeling good and Mr. Jones was nice and gave me some medicine to feel better."
His friend just raised a brow in response. "He's a good guy like that. They're up by the helm, waiting for you."
"Be right up there. You can rest in here as long as you need to," he told Lily before following Walsh out of his office. He could feel his friend's eyes on him as they walked back to the helm, praying over and over he hadn't seen Lily's magic.
"Spill, Jones, who was that kid?" Walsh asked him while they were cleaning up from the party.
With a sigh, Killian dropped the garbage back onto the dock. "That was Lily. She managed to get on board without my notice," he explained, scratching at the spot just below his right ear.
"The kid who showed up at your place the other night?"
"The one and only."
"Still trying to convince you she's your daughter?" Walsh asked with a laugh.
"Among other things," he muttered under his breath, offering the blond a quick quirk of his lips in response.
"Have to admit, she's good, getting on board without either of us noticing. Makes you wonder what other skills she has. Not that it really matters, once you finally convince her you've no relation to her whatsoever."
Killian shrugged, only half listening to his friend's rambling as he focused on the cleaning up they had left to do, wanting to go home so he could attempt to figure out exactly what the hell was going on.
Unfortunately, he was not surprised to see the dark-haired 10-year-old sitting on his couch when he got home. If she could sneak aboard his boat, she could easily get into his apartment when he wasn't there.
"You hungry?" he asked, succumbing to the fact he wouldn't be getting rid of her any time soon.
"Starving. It's impossible to buy food here with gold coins," Lily supplied, smiling up at him.
It amazed him how she seemed to always look happy, no matter what she was talking about. "How's pizza sound?" he suggested, pulling his phone from his pocket.
"I don't know what that is…" Lily frowned.
Brows raised, his choice made. "Then pizza it is. Do you like meat or veggies more?"
"Both?" she asked hesitantly, as if she wasn't sure that was an acceptable answer.
Killian grinned. "No problem. Supreme for the lady."
Forty minutes later, Lily was scarfing down her third slice of pizza. "This is so good!"
Leaning back in his chair, he laughed. "Aye, it is," he hummed in agreement, enjoying his own slice as he studied the girl. Now that he had a chance to really look at Lily, he started to notice the little details about her. Like the shape of her jaw, the exact same shade of black of her hair, and the nearly perfect copy of his lopsided grin. The more he looked at her, the more he was willing to believe she was his daughter.
"You're staring." Her voice pulled him from his thoughts. Blinking a couple times, he saw that grin again. "You're starting to believe me."
"You're a very convincing lass."
"Grandpa says the same thing. I get it from mom. That and her pout," Lily added before showing him exactly what she was referring to.
As if on cue, an image of the woman—Emma—flashed in his mind.
She stares at him from where they lay on their bed, the sounds of early morning activity floating in through the open window off to the side. Her lips are pulled into a pout, her eyes pleading for him to give in to her silly requests.
"Come on, Killian. Do it for me? Please?"
"Dad? Dad!" Lily shouted, her expression now one of worry as she stared at him. "What's wrong? You look like you saw a ghost."
"I- it was her. Emma," he explained, running his fingers through his hair. "When you pouted, an image of her doing the exact same thing hit me. Almost-…almost like it was a memory…"
Lily jumped out of her chair, ran around the table to him, and lunged at him for a hug. "You're remembering!" she giggled, squeezing him for a heartbeat before stepping back, a wide, toothy on her face. "That's awesome!"
Killian gave her a small smile, scratching under his ear. "It was just one image, lass. That doesn't mean anything," he tried to argue, the excuse sounding weak even to him.
"It is something! Tink said it would only take you remembering a couple things before your memory comes back completely!"
"Tink-? You mean Tinkerbell? As in the fairy from Peter Pan?" he asked in confirmation, giving her a strange look.
"Yes, her! Minus the bit about Peter Pan. I don't think she's ever met him," Lily corrected with a nod. "She helped me and mom learn to use our magic after I was born."
"If you say so," Killian relented with a sigh. Pushing away from the table, he stood up and put the leftover pizza in the fridge. "I think it's time to call it a night."
"Oh…okay…" The girl lingered in the kitchen, playing with the hem of her shirt, looking like she didn't want to go. And who was he to kick a kid out?
"Where have you been sleeping?" he suddenly asked, curious—and slightly worried—of her answer.
"I found a shelter with a bunch of other kids," she explained, her voice quiet.
A homeless shelter? Although it wasn't too much of a stretch. Where else could she go?
"You're staying here tonight," he decided. "I've a second room you can have."
Her face brightened and she scrambled over to him, giving him another hug, this time around his waist.
Killian smiled and smoothed a hand over her hair. "Let's get you into bed, love."
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